His Izzie
by MusicNeverStops474
Summary: A backround story on the importance of October 1, 2010 to Theodore McCallister III.


**Author's Note: ****Hey guys! So, I will be trying to post my latest chapter of Stay Away from Poison Ivy tonight but while I was on my walk this afternoon I was listening to just some guitar music and thoughts wandered. So at my church tomorrow they're doing a thing where we all wear pink in honor of those fighting cancer, Thinking of cancer mme think of other stuff and this was the result. Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer/ I don't own anything...well, maybe I own the character I made up.**

A knock at the front door startled Claire McCallister while she sat in the silent house alone pondering over her thoughts. Her feet obediently made their way from kitchen table to the front entrance where she was greeted with the cheerful face of her colleague Sally Botsford and her far less enthusiastic daughter, Becky. The ornate doorknob turned easily under Claire's calloused hand and the mother forced herself to put on a small smile for the two unexpected guests.

"Why hello Sally, Becky. What brings you two here?" The weary mother inquired politely.

"Hello Claire! Well, Mr. Botsford and TJ are out for the afternoon fishing and Becky told me that she thought spending an afternoon with a friend would be a lot more fun than helping me sort out my stamp collection," Claire observed Becky glaring at her mother at the term 'friend', "So, I thought maybe you and Tobey wouldn't mind Becky spending the afternoon here."

Remembering her invitation to drop by at any time, Claire sighed then replied, "I'm sorry Sally but Tobey isn't home right now, he's been gone al day. He left early this morning."

She heard Becky gasp before asking in disbelief, "He ran away?!"

Claire shook her head sadly, "No, he just needed some time to himself today that's all."

"Why?" Sally asked, just as curious as her daughter, "I mean, it is your business, you don't need to explain."

Claire thought for a moment, weighing something in her mind before she answered slowly, "No, it's alright, someone ought to know, and I can't think of two better people. Why don't you come in and I can explain; it's a long story."

The mother and daughter glanced at each other for a brief moment before stepping past Claire into the house and then following her into the living room. The room was modestly decorated with its dark indigo walls, several paintings and plants, and finally a sofa accompanied by a well used easy chair that Claire lowered herself into. Sally and Becky nervously seated themselves onto the plush sofa while watching the blond woman close her eyes and take a deep breath.

When her teal eyes opened once more, she leant forward slightly and began to reveal to them the story she'd never told anyone else in this town, "Before we moved to Fair City, our family lived in Ottawa, Canada. Theo, my….my husband, died in a fatal car accident when Tobey was only two years old and Tobey grew up very timid and misunderstood. He didn't have any real friends; he was very lonely for that first year after Theo had passed away. When I began working as a lawyer there I met the nicest woman I'd ever worked with, her name was Margaret Willows. One day, when Tobey was three years old, she introduced her daughter to him."

Claire paused for a moment while she let them swallow this new information. Mixed emotions showed on their faces, the most dominant one being pity, the pity Claire had received every time someone found out about her husband's death. She was sick of it; their pity couldn't bring back her husband, it could never fill the empty void in her heart that had been empty since the day her beloved Theo had died.

Regardless, she continued in the same quiet, monotone voice, "Her name was Isabelle; Izzie was what Tobey called her though, his Izzie. From that first day on, they were the best friends imaginable. Nothing could separate those two. She understood Tobey like no one else could, even me, and Tobey loved her more than anything."

Here she stopped again, feelings of eternal sadness rising in her as she recalled the adoration she had seen in Tobey's eyes each time he looked at her. Claire swallowed the lump in her throat with difficulty and continued, "For seven long and wonderful years they grew up together; she always defended him from the bullies who taunted him and in return he shared all his new inventions and ideas with her. Margaret and I had thought that they would break away from one another like most kids do when they reach that certain age but they didn't. In fact, not only did they stay friends; their friendship grew into the strongest I'd ever seen. It was as if they were going to be together forever."

"But when they were 8 years old on 18, something terrible happened. Isabelle was…," Claire had to stop the tears from flowing out, "Isabelle was diagnosed with leukemia."

Both guests' faces changed to shock as they processed the information and a heavy blanket of silence hung over the room; pressing down onto the three people. It seemed like an eternity before Claire spoke again, her voice all choked up, "She was so brave; she never once cried or complained at the constant visits to hospital. She kept smiling and laughing, enjoying the world as best as she could, always refusing to let Tobey feel sorry for her. For the next several months she spent every possible minute with him, making him laugh every time no matter if it was at the park or in the hospital. I even found them asleep together one night in the backyard on the trampoline, all curled up in each other's arms. But fate was inventible and a few months later she passed away in the hospital, October 1, 2010. Exactly last year."

Silent tears ran down everyone's face, no of them thinking to wipe them away, Claire kept talking, wanting to tell them everything, to get it out of her system, "It was like Tobey died that day too. He was never the same after Isabelle; he's by himself more and rarely laughs like he used to. He's always occupied with his thoughts; that's why he's gone today. To not think of anything but Isabelle and remember all the times they'd spent together. To remember his Izzie."

Neither of them said anything more for many minutes; Claire felt relieved to have finally let the story out and Sally and Becky now had a swarm of new immense thoughts and views of Tobey. They'd been wrong all this time; he wasn't just a bratty and mischievous kid who wanted attention at all. He was a broken boy with an empty space in his heart.

The visit lasted a little while longer; they both offered their condolences and sympathies while Claire slowly composed herself once more. Before they left out the front door, Becky turned and asked Claire timidly, "Mrs. McCallister? When Tobey comes home could you…..could you tell him that I'm sorry?"

A sad smile formed on Claire's face before she assured in the kindest voice Becky had ever heard her use, "Of course Becky, of course."

And with that, Becky climbed into the van next to her mother with a whole new perspective and respect for Theodore McCallister III.

**Why don't we all take a moment and remember those who have lost their lives to cancer and those who are fighting it. Remember how lucky we are to have a healthy body free of disease.**

**Sincerely,**

**MusicNeverStops474**


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